Cartridge carrier



Oct. 9, 1962 A. A. ZUBER CARTRIDGE CARRIER Filed May 25, 1960 lllllllt m wae 6 2 am INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,057,463 Patented Oct. 9, 1962 3,057,463 CARTREDGE CAR Alexander A. Zuher, Fort Madison, Iowa, ass'iguor to W. A. Sheaifer Pen Company, Fort Madison, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 25, 1960, Ser. No. 31,643 2 Claims. ((31. 20637) This invention rel-ates to a cartridge carrier and has special reference to a carrier adapted for the reception and retention of one or more writing fluid cartridges.

More particularly, this invention relates to a carrier for writing fluid cartridges, the carrier comprising an elongate body member having an open end and an inwardly extending shoulder disposed in a spaced relation with the open end, there being a resilient band adjacent the upper end of the body member and biasing at least a portion of the open end inwardly to reduce the effective opening therethrough.

Within the past several years, fountain pens adapted to be filled by means of sealed writing fi-uid cartridges have come into relatively wide usage because of several advantages inherent in this type of construction. The cartridges may be carried easily with little .danger of leakage and subsequent soiling of the clothes of the user, they can be inserted into the pen unde practically any conditions and they provide certain convenience and safety features which are lacking when filling a pen from the usual bottle of writing fluid. These s-called cartridge type pens are particularly useful to those individual having to travel a great deal, to students and others who must do a substantial amount of writing while moving from place to place but find it inconvenient to carry a bottle of writing fluid.

The usual refill cartridge is molded of a semi-resilient plastic material, such as polyethylene, so that it will not fracture easily should it be subjected inadvertently to a sharp impact or other unusual strain.

Prior to this invention, refill cartridges have been carried by the users loosely in a handbag or pocket. While this practice has been satisfactory in many instances, cer tain drawbacks have been noted. When dropped into a pocket or handbag with a number of other articles, the cartridges may be diflicult to locate immediately when needed, or they may be damaged if one or more of the other article should have a sharp point or edge. And particularly when carried in a trouser pocket, the car tridges may be subjected to suflicient pressure to cause a break in the bond between the seal disc and the body of the cartridge should the user collide with or loan heavily against a hard object.

To overcome these various problems, the present invention provides a cartridge carrier which is adapted to receive and releasably but securely maintain and protect one or more writing fluid refill cartridges. The carrier preferably is provided with a pocket clip or similar structure whereby it may be clipped by the user within a shirt or coat pocket, a handbag, or the like. Thus, the cartridges not only are protected by the inst-ant carrier but are maintained separately from any other articles which may be carried by the user and immediately available when needed.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a cartridge carrier which will securely but releaseably hold and protect one or more writing fluid cartridges and prevent inadvertent displacement or loss thereof.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a cartridge carrier which may be releasably secured within a handbag or garment pocket.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge carrier having an open upper end which may be biased inwardly to frictionally grip a cartridge placed therein.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cartridge carrier which may be manufactured of a variety of materials to provide a large choice of colors, finishes, or designs to match or complement various types of writing instruments.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a cartridge carrier which is inexpensive to manufacture but which is rugged in construction to assure long service without undue care on the part of the user.

Further and additional objects and advantages of this invent-ion will be apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partially in section, of a cartridge carrier constructed in accordance with this invention;

PEG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view, partially in section, of another embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is provided a cartridge carrier 10 having an elongate body member 11 terminating in an open upper end 12. While the carrier is not restricted to any particular design or material, the body member 11 of this embodiment is substantially cylindrical in configuration and molded or otherwise formed of a semi-resilient material such as polyethylene. On many occasions, the present carrier construction will be sold and used with a fountain pen and, for this reason, it may be manufactured of several suitable materials and provided with a color and finish matching or complementing that of the pen.

The inside diameter of the body member 11 should be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the writing fluid cartridge or cartridges to be disposed therein, and it may be made of any desired length. However, it is preferred to provide suflicient length to hold two writing fluid cartridges 13, one of which is shown in FIG. 1 in position within the body portion 11.

It is necessary to provide some type of stop means at the lower end of the body member 11, and for this purpose the lower end may be closed or partially restricted by an integral inwardly extending annular shoulder 14. This shoulder thus provides an upwardly facing surface 15 against which the lower cartridge 13 abuts.

As indicated previously, the open upper end 12 and the interior of the body member 11 are slightly larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the cartridges 13 which are to be inserted therein. Accordingly, to prevent inadvertent loss or displacement of the cartridges 13 from thecarrier 10, the upper end of the body portion 11 is biased inwardly to reduce the effective opening of the end 12 by a resilient band 16 which encircles a major portion of the body member 11. The band is formed of a spring steel or the like and to such a configuration that it normally is smaller in inside circumference than the circumference of the body member 11. The distention of the band over the body member thus results in a constant inwardly directed biasing action thereon. This constant pressure eliminates the necessity of mechanically attaching the band to the body portion 11, as it is retained in place effectively by the frictional contact between the two elements.

As a result of the biasing action of the band 16, the upper end of the body portion 11 adjacent the open end 12 assumes a substantially elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 2. In the absence of a cartridge or cartridges 13 within the carrier 10, the upper end of the body portion will be distorted to the extent that its minor diameter will be somewhat less than the outside diameter of the cartridge refill. Thus, when a cartridge is placed therein, a positive frictional contact will be created therebetween. And it has been found that this frictional contact very satisfactorily holds the cartridge or cartridges 13 within the body portion 11 without danger of inadvertent loss thereof.

As it is desirable to provide some type of structure for holding the carrier in a garment pocket or handbag, a pocket clip 17 is mounted adjacent the upper end of the body portion 11. While the clip 17 may be mounted in various ways, or formed as an integral part of the carrier, it is preferred to provide the clip 17 as an integral part of the band 16. The clip 17 is of the usual construction, comprising a resilient arm portion 18 which depends downwardly from the band 16 and which terminates in an inwardly extending ball or contact point.

As described above, the band 16 biases the upper end of the body member 11 into a substantially elliptical shape in order to hold the cartridges 13 securely within the carrier 10. There are several ways in which the cartridges may be removed from the carrier such as by holding it in an inverted position and shaking it vigorously. However, it is more convenient for the user merely to press against the upper end of the clip 17 and the diametrically opposite section of the body portion 11 to overcome the biasing action of the band 16 and return the upper end of the carrier 10 to a substantially circular shape. When the body portion 11 is reformed in this fashion and held in an inverted position, the force of gravity usually will cause the cartridges to slide easily from the carrier. A third alternative for removing the cartridges is to insert a slender instrument through the restricted opening in the lower end of the body portion 11 and push the cartridges upwardly to a position where the upper cartridge may be grasped conveniently by the user and removed through the open upper end 12.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is similar to the above described embodiment in that it comprises an elongate cylindrical body portion 20 molded or otherwise formed of a semi-resilient plastic material and provided with an open upper end 21. Disposed in a spaced relation with the open upper end and integral with the opposite end of the body portion 20 is an inwardly extending shoulder 22 against which the end of a cartridge 13 will abut.

Carried adjacent the upper end of the body portion 20 F is a resilient band 23 which, in an unstressed condition, is smaller in diameter than the outside of the body 20. Accordingly, when mounted on the carrier it will bias the upper end inwardly thereby reducing the opening 21 through the upper end. As will be well understood by those in the art, the resilient band 23 preferably is formed of a spring type steel or other similar metal in order to provide sufficient tension to bias the upper end of the body portion as described above.

The body portion 20 includes an aperture 24 which extends downwardly from the open upper end 21. The aperture 24 preferably extends to a point below the midsection of the body portion 20 for a purpose to be described in more detail hereinafter.

As mentioned above, the resilient band 23 biases the upper portion of the body 20 inwardly so as to provide positive frictional contact between the interior surface thereof and the upper cartridge 13. Thus, the cartridges are held securely against inadvertent displacement until the user wishes to remove one or both of them. Such removal is accomplished very readily merely by inserting a finger nail or some other similarly sized object into the aperture 24 and into contact with the bottom surface of the upper cartridge 13, whereafter the cartridge may be easily pushed upwardly and exposed so that it can be readily grasped by the user.

If the body member 20 is of sufiicient length to accommodate two refill cartridges, the lower cartridge may be loose and slide to some extent in the carrier after removal of the upper cartridge. However, this will create no problem in as much as the remaining cartridge can not escape because of the reduced opening at the upper end of the body portion 20.

While only two embodiments of this invention are shown and described herein, it is understood that various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is contemplated by the appended claims to cover such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A carrier for removably receiving a plurality of cy lindrical writing fluid cartridges, said carrier comprising a tubular body member formed of resilient plastic material and provided with an open upper end, said body member having an inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the cartridges to be removably received therein, an inwardly extending shoulder integral with and disposed at the lower end of said body member and providing stop means to engage one of said cartridges and restrain said cartridge from moving through said lower end, and a resilient band frictionally carried adjacent the upper end of said body member and encircling a major portion thereof, said body member having a longitudinally disposed aperture extending from said open end, said resilient band yieldably biasing said upper end inwardly to reduce the width of said aperture and the effective opening through said open end whereby the minor inside dimension of said open end is less than the outside diameter of said cartridges.

2. A carrier for removably receiving at least one substantially cylindrical cartridge, said carrier comprising a laterally resilient tubular body member provided with an open upper end, said body member having an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of the cartridge to be removably received therein, inwardly extending stop means disposed adjacent the lower end of said body member to restrain said cartridge against movement through said lower end, a resilient band adjacent the upper end of said body member and encircling a major portion thereof, said body member having an aperturre adjacent said open end, said resilient band yieldably biasing said upper end inwardly to reduce the width of said aperture and the effective opening through said open end whereby the minor inside diameter of said open end is less than the outside diameter of said cartridge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,494 Owens Apr. 9, 1907 2,325,943 Fletcher Aug. 3, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 339,984 Great Britain Dec. 16, 1930 1,119,997 France Apr. 9, 1956 

